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Ramming blades
Ramming Blades (also known as ploughs or battering rams) are a general term for static blade weapons which are used to ram, scoop or push opponents, but otherwise do not fall into any other category of weapon. This weapon was a common staple in Series 1 of Robot Wars, with robots such as Bugs and Full Metal Anorak using blades to target tyres and pierce weak armour. Although two robots in the first two series - Bodyhammer and Napalm - achieved success with ramming blades, they quickly became obsolete and were used as secondary or tertiary weapons on other competitors such as Killerhurtz and The Steel Avenger. Shunt utilised a rear plough in all of his iterations, and Sergeant Bash used a ramming blade before being upgraded with pincers. The Sentinel also operated as one giant moving blade, as the arm ended with various blades to pin or pierce competitors. Fellow House Robot Refbot was also equipped with static plough- and scoop-like blades to help him free other robots if they became locked together or stranded on the arena walls. Definition There is no single definition of ramming blade, as the weapon itself can take a number of different shapes and sizes. The basic concept of a ramming blade is to cause damage to opponents by driving directly into them. Skillful drivers use their weapons to aim at certain areas for damage, but in most cases, the ramming blade is simply an auxiliary weapon which is used for extra damage and pushing capabilities. Ramming blades are typically arrow-shaped blades mounted at the robot's front, however some can exist in the form of scoops, such as the weapon of Scutter's Revenge. These types of ramming blade focus more on lifting an opponent up to push and drag them around the arena or into specific hazards. Advantages and Disadvantages Advantages *Ramming blades could be used to good effect with exploiting exposed or vulnerable areas of other robots. The best example would be The Steel Avenger's attack on King B Powerworks during their Extreme 1 Mayhem, when the impact of The Steel Avenger's blade sheared King B Powerworks' wheel off, ultimately resulting in the former winning on a Judges' decision. *Ramming blades in the shape of scoops are very effective at pushing other robots, especially when combined with powerful drive systems. This was best shown during Scutter's Revenge's run in Series 3, as its scoop-like blade allowed it to push opponents around the arena and into hazards with ease. *A ramming blade often drastically lowers the robot's ground clearance, which prevents opponents from getting underneath them. For example, Robopig was unable to get underneath Napalm's plough during their Series 3 battle; instead, the former simply drove up the plough, resulting in Robopig getting stuck on its rear panel and subsequently losing the battle. *Many ramming blades - especially plough-shaped ones - are ideal for separating other robots. Refbot's bulldozer ploughs were specifically intended to separate two robots which became locked together in combat or to help free competitors which became stuck on the arena walls. *They can be incorporated into invertible designs, as proven by Eye of Newt, later versions of Scorpion and many others. *In the event of the robot's main weapon breaking or malfunctioning, a ramming blade can easily be substituted, using parts from the original weapon on a case-by-case basis. This notably happened to Mortis and Bodyhammer in Series 1, where their respective axe and hammer weapons were converted into ramming blades following various mechanical and reliability issues. Disadvantages *As more advanced and powerful weapons became commonplace in robot combat, ramming blades or battering rams became very uncommon, as they gradually became less effective with each subsequent series of Robot Wars. Many robots with these weapons often failed to qualify or lost easily in later series, as they were either considered uninteresting by the producers or proved ineffective in battle. *Ramming blades, as with all static weapons, were prohibited from Series 7 onwards unless paired with an active weapon of any kind. *Many ramming blades often have a narrow attack range, which can easily be avoided by most opponents. This proved problematic for robots like Sergeant Bash, who after two series with a front ramming blade, adopted pincers for the remainder of his appearances on the show. *Robots equipped with a ramming blade as their primary weapon often lacked a self-righting mechanism; if they were not invertible, this could easily result in a knock-out loss. This was best shown in Ally Gator's Series 3 fight with Berserk 2, where Ally Gator's effective use of its front spikes was negated once the latter turned it over. Trivia *One robot equipped with ramming blades - Cerberus - broke the record for the shortest battle in Series 3, after using its front claws and ramming tail to push Griffon into the pit within ten seconds. This record would not be broken until Series 7. List of Robots with Ramming Blades Robots are listed alphabetically. Robots which are not heavyweight entries are listed with a green background. House Robots are listed with a yellow background. Category:Weapon Types Category:Robots with Ramming Blades